Pacific Ethanol (PEIX) Beats on EPS, Misses Revenue

Pacific Ethanol, Inc. (PEIX) shares are up $1.36, or 13.67%, to $10.69 in extended trading Wednesday after the company reported its fourth quarter earnings results.

The producer of low-carbon renewable fuels reported earnings of $0.41 per share on revenues of $256.2 million, up 19.0% from a year ago. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.18 on revenues of $258.12 million. Q4 gross profit was $18.4 million, compared to $21.6 million for Q4’13.

For full-year 2014, the company reported net sales of $1.1 billion, compared to $908.4 million for 2013. Adjusted net earnings was $59.9 million, or $2.64 per share. Gross profit came in at $108.5 million, compared to $32.9 million for 2013.

On valuation measures, Pacific Ethanol Inc. shares, which currently have an average 3-month trading volume of 1.15 million shares, trade at a trailing-12 P/E of 11.79, a forward P/E of 5.85 and a P/E to growth ratio of 0.18. The median Wall Street price target on the name is $17.75 with a high target of $24.00. Currently ticker boasts 3 ‘Buy’ endorsements, compared to no ’Holds’ and no ‘Sell’.

Profitability-wise, PEIX has a t-12 profit and operating margin of 1.63% and 8.90%, respectively. The $228.32 million market cap company reported $68.08 million in cash vs. $34.53 million in debt in its most recent quarter.

PEIX currently prints a one year loss of about 40% and a year-to-date loss of 11.33%.

The chart below shows where the equity has traded over the last 52 weeks.

Pacific Ethanol Inc. produces and markets low-carbon renewable fuels in the United States. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California.